OBX

 

We had a wonderful weekend at the Outer Banks (OBX). We relaxed, did some sight seeing and just enjoyed being together. Last September we went to OBX with Daniel's dad (Wesley) & grandma and enjoyed climbing to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse and going to the Wright Brothers Museum and monument to learn how the Wright Brothers became the first to fly. We also drove the full length of the southern portion of islands from Kill Devil Hills to Ocracoke and then took 2 ferries to get home. It was a lot of fun.

 

 

This year, it was just Wesley and us. As we were driving on the island to our hotel, we kept seeing these signs that said "Bear Crossing, Next 15 Miles" - who knew that bears liked the beach??? Apparently this is a sanctuary for wild animals, including bears. It is also has one of the largest bear populations in the east!

 

 

We decided to stay in the same hotel, Colony by the Sea. Wesley had an ocean view with a balcony that was nice to sit on at night. We spent our Saturday driving north and discovering the towns of Duck, Corolla and Currituck Village. We actually drove until the road ended and the sand began - you can drive 4-wheel drive vehicles on the beach here! Daniel and I are so coming back in the Pathfinder to drive and camp on the beach!!!

  

Anyways, we climbed to the top of the Currituck lighthouse and had a good view of the ocean and the sound. We visited a wildlife center to learn more about the area. We also saw the Whalebone Club - a spectacular club that was built for wealthy hunters. That afternoon we drove back to Nags Head where we stopped and visited some art galleries and then went to Jockey's Ridge State Park where we climbed sand dunes and flew a kite.

 

 

The kite flying was a lot of fun - this was the highest natural point of the island and there was lots of wind. Daniel and Wesley were much better at kite flying than I was - whenever I controlled the kite, it always seemed to do a nose dive to the ground! We were there for about an hour and as we were leaving, the wind whipped up and yanked the kite out of Daniel's hands. He went chasing after it but it ended up stuck in a tree over some power lines. Oh well - it was a lot of fun while it lasted!

 

The crowds were gone from OBX and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The water was still warm and the waves were pretty big. It was nice to sit on the beach in the sun and even better to sit on Wesley's balcony at night to watch the pounding waves and see the vast sky full of stars. The temperature was perfect - warm in the day, but on the cool side in the mornings and evenings.

 

We are all looking forward to another trip to OBX next year - there is still so much to explore. There are wild ponies to find and beaches to drive on and waters to kayak on...